1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is generally related to patient interface systems and, more particularly, to ophthalmic interface apparatus and system and method for interfacing surgical lasers with an eye.
2. Background
Lasers are being used more and more frequently in certain ophthalmic surgical procedures. For example, an ophthalmic surgical laser may be utilized to remove cataracts, re-shape the cornea, or the like. An accurate positioning of the eye in relationship to the laser allows the laser beam to be directed with a high degree of accuracy. Patient interface devices have been constructed to stabilize the eye in relation to the laser and typically have a corneal interface end and an attachment end for coupling to the laser. The corneal interface end is temporarily secured to a patient's cornea, and then the laser is docked to the attachment end to subsequently provide therapy. The corneal interface end typically uses a clear interface lens to contact the cornea. This patient interface device is suited to stabilizing the eye and providing a fixed reference for alignment of the laser with the patient's eye.
The relative position of the interface lens with respect to the output surface of the surgical laser may affect the alignment of the laser with the patient's eye (e.g., along at least one of an x-axis, a y-axis, a z-axis, a tilt, a rotation, or the like). For proper alignment of the eye relative to the surgical laser, the physical dimension tolerances of the patient interface device components may be maintained at a high degree of precision. For example, precise machining of the components may improve this alignment. However, with multiple parts in the patient interface assembly, the cumulative tolerance may contribute a significant error.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and a method for interfacing a surgical laser with an eye that determines and minimizes alignment errors between the surgical laser and the eye. It is also desirable to provide a system and method for interfacing a surgical laser with an eye, using a patient interface device, that determines the presence and position between the surgical laser output and the patient interface device. Additionally, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.